(MENAFN) After Hurricane Ian ripped across the western part of the island, Cuba's electrical grid failed, leaving the country of 11 million people without electricity.
Thousands of people were evacuated ahead of the powerful storm, which made landfall in Cuba's Pinar del Rio region early Tuesday, where majority of the tobacco used in cigars is cultivated.
According to Lázaro Guerra, technical director of the Electric Union of Cuba, a malfunction in the national electric system, caused in part by the storm, had impacted the power network.
As per the state media, Guerra stated that crews will work through the night and early Wednesday to restore electricity.
Residents in Cuba lamented "disaster" and shared photographs of flooded streets and downed trees on social media. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) in the United States estimated Ian's maximum wind speed as 205km/h (127mph) at the time of landfall, with "severe wind and storm surge damage."
According to state media, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel visited the affected area.
Caridad Fernandez, 65, of Consolacion de Sur, 145 kilometers southwest of Havana, reported her roof was severely damaged and water flowed in through her front door.
“Everything we have is damaged,” she asserted. “But we’ll get through this, we’ll just keep moving forwards.”
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